RoustWriter: Blog

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

...The two young women stood as they watched the stairs retract into the belly hatch of their interceptor. Both saluted their ship as it blinked its lights just before Ship slotted it into its place at the head of the row of interceptors on the flight deck.

Ann called everyone to attention, and Arlene said a few words about their practice today. After the crews were dismissed, Arlene walked near Worthington and Camp. "Meet me in my office in five minutes," she snapped as she turned and walked away, Ann hurrying to keep up with her.

As soon as the four of them were in Arlene's office, she mentally asked Ship to close the door. "We have a problem," she bluntly started.

"Ma'am, we've done everything by the book," Camp began.

"Bullshit," Worthington snarled. "There's no problem, it's just that you're down on us because we violated your picky-ass rules."...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

...Every Miadax in the rec room froze as the group came in with Selina astride Lila and Lobo close beside them.

"Relax," Jeff said loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. "They are highly intelligent beings."

"You are dismissed," the First told his crew. "I'll meet you in the training room shortly."

"What are they," the navigator, who was the nearest alien to the wolves, asked as he sidled past.

While the wolves grinned back, Jeff couldn't resist and said, "Your best friend or your worst nightmare."

That didn't settle any of the aliens' minds at all. In seconds, the bridge crew had filed out of the room.

If the wolves could wear a smirk, Lobo and Lila certainly did, and Jeff could hardly keep his face straight, knowing the crew would remember Lobo and Lila's grins for quite some time.

The First Officer tore his eyes away from the wolves to ask his Commander, "What can I do for you, Captain?"...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

..."You're certain this thing will not hurt them in any way?"

Jeff answered with a long stream of Miadax - at least he eventually told them it was Miadax.

"I'm certain my accent is terrible," he responded, "and speaking the language tends to strain my throat, but the First says it will become easier. I stopped by before breakfast and had him use the equipment on me. It's as if I have known Miadax all my life, except that I have trouble making some of the sounds. The First says my tongue will become accustomed to the new sounds with practice, and my accent should improve."

It was doubtful that the wolves understood enough English to realize what Jeff was talking about, but both tilted their heads a little, obviously noticing the strange sounds when he spoke the other language.

Morales turned to his wives. When they smiled and nodded, he looked at the wolves before saying, "I can't deny them the opportunity to talk and understand." After a slight hesitation, he went on, "Do whatever is necessary, if they agree."

"Guys, Mr. Morales has given his permission. Now, it's up to you two. Do you want to know and speak our language?" Selina asked them, while trying to project the same thing...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

...The genius went back to the coffee machine to make herself a cup. Jeff opened his mouth to say that children shouldn't drink so much coffee, but the comment died before it escaped his lips. He was certain that with her memory and intellect, he would lose the battle yet again, so he just smiled instead.

Then, she dropped a non sequitur as she was wont to do on occasion. "How many men have you killed? Uh, perhaps I should change the noun. How many antagonists have you killed," she asked as she put in a dash of cream and started adding sugar - lots of it.

Jeff mentally winced, as he usually did when he watched her fixing her coffee.

"Perhaps it would be simpler to ask how many beings have you killed?"

"Selina, you know damn well that I have never killed anyone who wasn't trying to kill me or one of my people."

"Stalliiinnnggg" she said as she dragged out the word while staring over the top of her cup.

After seating herself, she turned to him. "You are not going to tell me - yet again - are you? This leads me to believe the number is quite large, or else you cannot enumerate it due to circumstances. Or you are protecting my fragile ego since I'm only a child," she practically snarled, not even noticing that her use of contractions was becoming automatic...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

..."Me?" Jeff said, somewhat taken aback. "I'm no telepath." But it hit him, and he went quickly on. "I wish I were, but Ship reads my mind, and we can communicate while I'm inside her or within a couple of hundred yards, but it's Ship that basically does the communicating. I'm just a plain old Earthman with absolutely no mental talents along those lines - at all." But even as he spoke, Jeff wondered how he was able to call to Ship if he were close enough to her, and then there was the time when he was slipping off that snow-covered ledge…"

The First raised that eyebrow again, but made no verbal response. Finally, "We have had individuals who were rumored to be telepathic, but I have never encountered anyone who claimed to have that talent."

"What about this Precog thing you've talked about? You said that you were a Precog 1 with absolutely no - shall we say - marketable abilities. Is that correct?"

The First Officer smiled. "I have never thought of it that way, but yes, that describes it nicely."

"Well, if that's so, then how did you win all those gunfights? I'm a fairly fast reader, and I've read through much of your ship's logs that it dumped to the escape pods, or whatever your race called them, when they were activated."

"I… just knew they were waiting to attack me. The Captain managed to…"

"Bullshit. Even though you had your back turned, you still had time to shoot him in the arm instead of killing him. You made a mistake by turning your back on the Captain - yet you still managed to live. When they tested you for Precog abilities, did you fake it to flunk the test?" Jeff bluntly asked...

Have a goodun;

Roust